NatureMapping

NatureMapping's mission is to protect biodiversity through data collection and dissemination. It is designed to engage citizens of all ages in hands-on, technology-enabled exploration of our natural environment. It fosters an open exchange of scientific information among a growing network of universities, government agencies, science and nature centers, landowners, civic organizations, businesses and interested citizens.

The program is offered in 13 states, including Arkansas, California, Idaho, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Click on a link to any of these projects to get started.

What Is Citizen Science?

Research often involves teams of scientists collaborating across continents. Now, using the power of the Internet, non-specialists are participating, too. Citizen Science falls into many categories. A pioneering project was SETI@Home, which has harnessed the idle computing time of millions of participants in the search for extraterrestrial life. Citizen scientists also act as volunteer classifiers of heavenly objects, such as in Galaxy Zoo. They make observations of the natural world, as in The Great Sunflower Project. And they even solve puzzles to design proteins, such as FoldIt. We'll add projects regularly—and please tell us about others you like as well.